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Test anxiety does not fall into any DSM-IV category.
However it would be characterized as an anxiety attack. Test anxiety
is extremely specific. Individuals may suffer an anxiety attack
during or even prior to an exam, even the night before, which would
relate back to what we discussed, in terms of anticipatory anxiety.
The symptoms are very similar, if not identical to an anxiety attack.
The outcome is a direct result of either a failing grade or perhaps
failing an exam, which definitely impacts one’s self-esteem.
This may begin to weigh heavily on the unfortunate individual’s
mind, causing a spiral affect in terms of gross misperceptions around
one’s cognitive abilities. Continuing the spiral, questioning
one’s abilities may occur; “Am I smart enough,”
“Will I a fail,” “Will I ever be able to get through
this course,” to name a few. One can easily see how this cycle
is grossly self-defeating, and may actually lead to severe depression,
culminating in the worst case scenario, dropping out of school.
For the clinician and even for the individual suffering from test
anxiety, a very thorough history needs to be taken, even extending
back as far as grade school. Acquiring the records of all classes
a patient took can be extremely helpful in the search for a pattern
of declining grades, which could lead to the discovery of some incident
that occurred which precipitated the decline. Personally, I have
never seen an individual develop test anxiety prior to high school,
although I am sure there are instances of that. It usually rears
its ugly head toward the end of high school, and is most commonly
seen in college. College students suffering from test anxiety have
the added pressure of graduating from college and finding a job.
Of course test anxiety may also be linked to a fear of success,
a topic which will be discussed at a different time.
Through therapy, the individual is taught, prior to test taking,
methods of calming down feelings of being overwhelmed. The importance
of good study habits is stressed, as well as the value of a good
night’s sleep prior to test taking. There are some excellent
medications on the market for sleep inducement the night before
a test. Sometimes breaking the test anxiety cycle is as simple as
taking medication the night before, support, and getting a good
night’s sleep. However, the majority of the time, it is not
as simple as that, and for this reason, medication is EXTREMELY
beneficial in the treatment of test anxiety. If an individual has
one or two successes taking tests while on medication, he feels
very confident he can successfully take a test and achieve a good
grade. Combined with individual therapy, we can then slowly decrease
the medication down to ground zero, with confidence restored.
Some may think that the medication is a crutch, fearful they will
always need it. In this author’s experience, I have been successful
in slowly tapering the medication down to ground zero, with continued
success. There are many web sites available for correcting test
anxiety related to bad study habits. I strongly advise you to check
these sites out. Please go to Google and type in bad study habits,
and you will find some quick remedies to alleviate bad study habits.
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